Frantic can be defined as: n – a state of panic, worry, frenzy or rush, and in regards to this title, it may be an understatement. From the moment you press start, the intensity begins to rise, whether from dodging the onslaught of enemy projectiles or rolling out from cover to rain some hell of your own. This is a shmup (shoot-em up) for the ages, as Decimation X3 is reminiscent of the 1980 arcade hit Galaxian, where numerous enemies appear on screen in a top-down manner, with you being the sole target of their cannons.
The frantic pace, combined with the never-ending rush of enemies and their attacks flush your display with vivid pixels of 8-bit greatness. While the color palatte is similar to that found on the Atari, Decimtion X3 does a great job of making use of what it’s got to work with. Upon being destroyed, enemies drop offensive and defensive power-ups, which can improve your rate of fire, number missiles fired, and movement speed, along with providing small groups of shields that your ship can hide behind to get a break from the action. Don’t get too comfortable though, because as the barriers take damage, they begin to crumble. Should you chose to play in Challenge Mode, you will discover that those shields never appear. For those who enjoy sharing, up to four players can play couch co-op, but with the number of things going on screen at once, I would find it very difficult to do so.
What I found most satisfying about this title was the gut-wrenching feeling you get from sliding in and out of enemy attacks to place a few of your own, knowing that you narrowly missed destruction for the Nth time. Breaking the monotony of the standard waves, a boss fight will also occur every few levels, which consists of one large vessel requiring hundreds of attacks to bring down. In keeping with the 8-bit touch, bosses begin to change colors, and blink before being destroyed.
Decimation is dying for leaderboard support, but developer Matthew Doucette is constantly updating his Twitter feed to display the current highest scores. Just when I thought I was doing well, I quickly realized I was being dominated by a guy who had a score of 8.4 million and reached level 79.
So who is this game for? Well, any individual who enjoys classic arcade-cabinet shooters will find themselves right at home with this one. Furthermore, despite lacking true leaderboards, the ability to have your score shared by the developer should fulfill the appetite of those who thrive on competition. In terms of a shmup, this is the best one I’ve come across on the platform and whole-heartedly recommend it.
Rating: 
Visit the Xbox Marketplace to add a free demo of Decimation X3 to your Xbox 360 download queue.
Decimation X3 was purchased on Xbox Live. It is available for 80 MS points ($1).
By at .
